Orting School District

All students ready for college, careers, and life

New Portable at Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary School

February 15, 2019

Hello Orting Families,

We aim to ensure the academic success of each student with safe, efficient, and well-maintained infrastructure that supports powerful teaching and learning.

After our April 2017 bond to build a new elementary school did not pass with the 60% super-majority required, we collaborated with stakeholders to come up with a short-term solution to address our most urgent overcrowding priorities. We then communicated with our families on the decision to purchase a portable that will house eight classrooms and contain bathrooms. This portable was purchased with the impact fees the district saved over six years that were collected on new construction built within our district. This portable is scheduled to open at Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary with the start of the 2019-2020 school year and unlike existing portables, this structure will look more like a permanent building.

While a portable is not the solution that we hoped for because it does not provide valuable core spaces such as libraries, gymnasiums or cafeterias, it does provide a short-term fix for our overcrowding issue until a bond measure is approved by our voters. As you may know, we have been unable to pass a bond with the 60% super-majority required to build or renovate schools since 2007 even though we have experienced a 15.6% increase in enrollment in the past five years. In fact, 3 out of 4 bond measures presented to our voters since 2004 have not passed. Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary more than doubled in enrollment since it was built in 2005.

We look forward to engaging our stakeholders again in the near future to find a long-term solution that voters will support, meets the needs of students, staff and our growing community, and serves our district mission of all students ready for college, careers, and life.

I invite you to follow us on social media to follow the progress and view pictures of this new addition to our district!

Sincerely,

Dr. Marci Shepard

Superintendent

(12)

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